Trịnh Sâm
Trịnh Sâm (Hán tự: 鄭森) ruled Vietnam from 1767 - 1782 AD. He ruled with the title "Tinh Do Vuong."
Trịnh Sam was one of the last of the powerful Trịnh Lords who ruled Vietnam from 1553 to 1789. During his rule, the Trịnh finally saw their ancient enemy, the Nguyễn Lords defeated.
Trịnh Sam was given rule over northern Vietnam from his father Trinh Doanh. Five years after his assention to power, the Tây Sơn rebellion started in the south. During his lifetime, the Tây Sơn rebels focused all their efforts against the Nguyễn Lords, specifically against Nguyễn Phuc Thuan who had gained the throne as a young boy. As the Tây Sơn rebellion gained strength, the Trịnh saw the Nguyễn weakening month by month. Trịnh Sam decided that the time had come to restart the Trịnh-Nguyễn War. The Royal (Trịnh) army was mobilized and around November 15, 1774, the army crossed the river into Nguyễn territory.
With the Nguyễn army divided and weak, the Trịnh army captured Phu Xuan (modern-day Huế) in February 1775. The Trịnh army continued south capturing more Nguyễn lands and defeating some of the forces of the Tây Sơn. In the summer of 1775, one of the leaders of the Tây Sơn, Nguyễn Nhac, made a formal alliance with Trịnh Sam against the Nguyễn. Trịnh Sam agreed and gave Nguyễn Nhac a formal title as well as "regalia". The Trịnh army then withdrew back to Huế, leaving the conquest of Saigon to the Tây Sơn (in 1776).
For the remainder of Trịnh Sam's life, the Trịnh did little but observe as emperor Gia Long (Nguyễn Ánh), the last surviving member of the Nguyễn Lords, made repeated attempts to re-take the south. The Tây Sơn brothers were too busy fighting with the die-hard Nguyễn loyalists to worry about the Trịnh in the north.
In 1782 as Trịnh Sam was dying, he tried to leave control over Vietnam to his son (from a favorite concubine), Trịnh Man, but his rightful heir, Trịnh Khai organized an army and fought against his half-brother. Although he was successful, this civil war fatally divided the Trịnh at a critical time when the Tây Sơn (under Nguyễn Hue) were gaining control over the south.
As far as the Lê Dynasty was concerned, there was just one king, Lê Hien Tông (1740-1786), who continued to occupy the royal throne in Hanoi.
See also Le Dynasty.
Sources
- Encyclopedia of Asian History, Volume 4. 1988. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
- Tay Son Rebelion - Chronology
- Annam and it Minor Currency Chapter 16 (downloaded May 2006)